Black money: AAP accuses govt of taking selective action

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal today met the chief of Supreme Court-appointed SIT and accused the government of taking selective action against those named in the list of 628 persons who have allegedly stashed money abroad.

"In the meeting with the SIT chief, we raised issue that like previous government, new government is also doing nothing on black money. We have told him that action is selectively being taken on the list of 628 persons submitted in the apex court by the Centre," he told reporters.

Kejriwal said, "Some people have been raided, interrogated and made to pay taxes, penalty and are now being prosecuted and why similar action has not been taken against others."

He also said that the "most powerful" people like some industrialists on the list have been let off by making them revise their earlier returns in back date.

The AAP chief demanded that SIT should send a strong message to all investigating agencies and its officials that howsoever mighty one be, same investigating procedures should be applied to all.

"We also demanded that each transaction in each bank statements (both credit and debit) should be investigated. This would lead to increase from 628 accounts to 6,000 such accounts as each transaction would involve a new person who may also have an illicit account," he added.

The former Delhi chief minister said, "Around 200 people on the list were made to sign "consent" that they did not have objection if HSBC Bank provided their complete bank statements to Indian government.

"We understand that HSBC has provided complete bank statements of around 100 such people. The bank statements provided by this bank match with the balance written in the government's list which establishes the credibility of such list. We are told that those who have signed consent statements are being 'unofficially' granted immunity from prosecution," he said.

Another AAP leader Prashant Bhushan, who accompanied Kejriwal, said that foreign banks which indulged in 'hawala' and who encouraged tax evasion should be proceeded against and compelled to give complete lists of all Indian account holders in their branches abroad.

"This information should be shared with other agencies to investigate the source and destination of these funds to find out if these funds had anything to do with any criminal activity," Kejriwal said.

He further said that the SIT chief has assured him that strict action would be taken against the guilty and they would not be spared.